LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri knows the importance of athleticism.
He helped mold former football players Chad Jones and Jared Mitchell into weapons on the baseball field in 2009. The duo ended their LSU careers as the only two college athletes with a BCS national championship and a College World Series crown.
Now another football player is making the same switch. Freshman running back Spencer Ware, who rushed for 102 yards in the Cotton Bowl, decided to join the baseball team.
Mainieri described Ware as the “wild card” on his roster. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native hasn’t practiced yet but will join the team Tuesday once school begins.
“He’ll be out there competing like crazy for playing time in the outfield,” Mainieri said. “Obviously he’s a great athlete, and he’ll be a welcome addition to our team.”
Mainieri said football lured Ware to LSU, but the running back always wanted to play both sports.
“[LSU coach] Les [Miles] and I have already proved with what we did with Chad Jones, Jared Mitchell, Chris Jackson, among others, that Les is very willing to let players play baseball,” Mainieri said. “It was a big part of Spencer’s decision to come to LSU.”
Mainieri said he wanted to wait for Ware to finish his first semester at LSU before making the freshman decide on baseball. As it turned out, Ware wasn’t ready to hang up the baseball cleats.
“After they finished the regular season he came to see me, and he expressed to me that he still had a great passion for baseball and really had a desire to be a part of it,” Mainieri said.
It is unclear at this point where Ware will fit into the Tigers’ plans. Mainieri said he already has an idea who his starting nine will be for the season opener Feb. 18 against Wake Forest.
There are quite a few holes to fill, as LSU lost first baseman Blake Dean, catcher Micah Gibbs, outfielder Leon Landry and pitcher Anthony Ranaudo, among others, to the major-league draft.
“I’m kind of referring to year five of my tenure as year one without Blake Dean,” Mainieri said. “It was pretty easy the last four years. When I started to write out a lineup, I always started with the No. 3 hole where I always put Dean’s name.”
Mainieri said sophomore Alex Edward, who mostly played third base last season, is the likely starter at first base, while freshman Tyler Ross will play catcher and freshman JaCoby Jones will play third base.
Junior Mikie Mahtook will rotate to centerfield alongside junior left fielder Trey Watkins. Mainieri said sophomore Mason Katz will have the “first shot” in right field and sophomore Raph Rhymes will likely be the designated hitter.
The middle infield will remain constant with junior Austin Nola at shortstop and junior Tyler Hanover at second base.
“We don’t have as much home-run power, but I think we’ve got a lot more speed this year,” Hanover said. “We’re going to incorporate different ways to score runs.”
LSU, which is ranked No. 15 in the preseason poll, has only two seniors — pitchers Daniel Bradshaw and Ben Alsup — and 13 freshmen after signing the No. 1 recruiting class.
“I think Ben Alsup, as a senior, his time has finally arrived where he can lead our pitching staff,” Mainieri said. “He’s really come along, and I think he’s turned into a bona fide [Southeastern Conference] weekend starter.”
Of the nine first-year pitchers on the roster, Mainieri said freshman Kevin Gausman and junior Tyler Jones, a junior college transfer, are the two who could start immediately.
 
—
Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]